Method and apparatus for detecting railtrack failures by comparing data from a plurality of railcars

Abstract

A technique for monitoring anomalies in a railway system 400 to predict a future track behavior. The technique uses a motion sensor 207, 209 operably coupled to a chassis of a rail car 101 to detect a possibility of an event which may correspond to an anomaly in the railway system. A global positioning sensor (GPS) 213 operably coupled to the chassis detects a geographical location of the rail car 101 at a time corresponding to the event, which correlates the anomaly to the geographical location and the time. The technique also uses a processor 301 operably coupled to the motion sensor 207, 209 to direct a signal corresponding to the event and a recorder 215 operably coupled to the processor 301 to log the signal which may correspond to the anomaly and the geographical location of the rail car corresponding to the event. A central station 104 tracks and analyzes the anomaly over time to predict a possible defect in the railway system using a record of the events over time.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of detecting conditions of a railway system to predict a possible track failure, said method comprising: detecting a first intensity value of an anomaly in a railway system using a first motion sensor operably coupled to a first moving rail car in a railway system;   detecting a second intensity value of said anomaly in said railway system using a second motion sensor operably coupled to a second moving rail car in said railway system; and   comparing said first intensity value to said second intensity value to identify a possible increase in a magnitude of said anomaly to predict a behavior of said anomaly.   
     
     
       2. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying a track location of said anomaly using a positioning system operably coupled to said first moving rail car. 
     
     
       3. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying a track location of said anomaly using a global positioning sensor operably coupled to said second moving rail car. 
     
     
       4. The method of claim 1 further comprising detecting a third intensity value of said anomaly using a third motion sensor operably coupled to a third rail car. 
     
     
       5. The method of claim 1 wherein said first moving rail car detects the first intensity value at a time substantially different from when said second moving rail car detects the second intensity value. 
     
     
       6. The method of claim 1 wherein said detecting of said first intensity value occurs at a different time from said detecting of said second intensity value. 
     
     
       7. The method of claim 1 wherein said anomaly is a rail track defect, said rail track defect is selected from a group consisting of a faulty rail tie, a faulty track, soil displacement, gravel displacement, and erosion of timber. 
     
     
       8. The method of claim 7 wherein the behavior is a possibility of a rail car derailment. 
     
     
       9. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing said first intensity value and said second intensity value in a memory. 
     
     
       10. The method of claim 1 wherein said first intensity value is detected at a first time and said second intensity value is detected at a second time, said first time occurring before said second time. 
     
     
       11. A method of detecting conditions of a railway system to predict a possible track failure, said method comprising: detecting a plurality of intensity values of an anomaly in a railway system at a geographical location over time using a motion sensor operably coupled to a moving rail car in said railway system; and   analyzing said intensity values of said anomaly to identify a possible increase in a magnitude of said anomaly over time to predict a behavior of said anomaly.   
     
     
       12. The method of claim 11 further comprising ascertaining said geographical location of said anomaly using a global positioning sensor operably coupled to said moving rail car in said railway system. 
     
     
       13. The method of claim 11 wherein said anomaly is a rail track defect, said rail track defect is selected from a group consisting of a faulty rail tie, a faulty track, soil displacement, gravel displacement, and erosion of timber. 
     
     
       14. The method of claim 13 wherein the behavior comprises a rail car derailment. 
     
     
       15. The method of claim 11 further comprising storing said intensity values in a memory. 
     
     
       16. A system for detecting track failures in a railway system, said system comprising: a plurality of rail car units to be operable in a railway system;   a tracking device on each of said rail car units for detecting an anomaly in said railway system, said tracking device including: a sensor comprising a motion sensor to be coupled to a chassis of a rail car;   a global positioning sensor (GPS) to be coupled to said chassis; and   a processing means coupled to said GPS and coupled to said motion sensor for detecting a magnitude value of the anomaly at a geographical location over time and for comparing said magnitude value to previously detected values to identify a possible increase in the magnitude of said anomaly to predict a behavior of said anomaly; and     a tracking station for receiving data related to said anomaly from tracking device.